Off-Roading and History Lesson

You can't do a redwood forest justice in photos. Or at least I've not learned how to yet. First there's the problem of fitting a tree into a picture - they don't fit. Way too big. Then there's the colors, so richly green and brown - they just don't come through in my photos. And then there's the majesty of the trees - their presence - their fairy tale aura - what ever that non-tangible element is. Not captured.

Fortunately, the main subject of my photos were an engaged couple. People photos, I can handle. I drove 2 hours down to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton, near Santa Cruz. Redwoods were background elements. It was cloudy, with a tiny splattering of drizzle - worrying, because the trees already provided lots of shade, and I prefer not to use flash. I was also worried because although the forest was beautiful, we were separated from it by a wooden fence that lined the trail.
One can only take so many pics of people sitting on fences or walking down trails. Luckily, the couple were up for some off-roading, which made for much more interesting photos.

As it turned out, the groom-to-be used to be a California tour guide, and thus I learned some Gold Rush era history associated with the park. One-Eyed Charlie (the other eye was lost to a horse kick - OUCH) was a stage coach driver in these here parts. Apparently not having stereoscopic vision wasn't a problem, as he had reputation for being an excellent driver, and gunman. Anyways, way back in 1868, One-Eyed Charlie cast a vote for the US president. It wasn't until he died, that it was discovered that Charlie was actually a woman, her real name being Charlotte. She may have been the first woman to have voted for a president in US history; women weren't allowed to officially vote until 1920. All this is going to come up in Jeopardy one day, just wait.

Pups are Like Small Children

Here's an After and Before editing. Like small children, when it comes to animal friends, one does not have much time to fuss with camera settings before the pup looks away or starts squirming. Just take the photo and worry about quality later! Hence, this poorly white-balanced (see that blue-ish hue? the camera guessed at the lighting conditions and its guess was off), badly cropped (too much green everywhere, particularly on the left, distracting pink plastic poo-bag holder at the bottom) and low-saturation (her hair color for instance, should be so much richer) photo.

Fortunately, all these things and more can be taken care of in the post-processing. Thanks to Lightroom and Photoshop!

Grass Trouble

It isn't easy, photographing a group of 11 people, 2 of whom are <2 years old. The top one I like, I just wish that the top right corner wasn't in the sun. If that were shaded grass, the photo would be just right. Sigh!!! I noticed it when everyone had sat down... but with that many people, it's hard to get everyone to shift around. Parents were already tired from trying to get babies to smile. I figured I'd try to improve things with photoshop. Unfortunately there wasn't enough background grass to sample and paste over the bright spot. I couldn't take foreground grass and paste it back there of course- the grass blades would be too big. Maybe I'll attempt grass resizing and pasting later. The best quick fix I could do was to paint-brush over the area with a wash of green, to take some of the glare out. At least everyone is looking at the camera.

The second pic, one of the moms is looking at her baby, but that's better than blinking. I figure it adds a little candid touch, so I don't mind it as much. I have some other versions where all the grown ups are looking but not all the kids.

They Should Make Artists Take Marketing Class In Art School

I know. Lots of baby photos. But other subjects will come, just stay tuned. This photo was taken towards the end of our one hour session. He was clearly tired of being photographed, he was out of smiles and making nothing but Bitter Melon face (I think I borrowed that from a Chinese phrase).

I've been trying to think of new avenues of advertising, besides Craigslist. And yes that Facebook page is in the making. I did try putting a sign up on a bulletin board by a children's park a while ago, during a sunny week. I fashioned a little holder for postcards and attached that to my sign. I think I got one response from that - and we never found a date that worked. There are some local parenting magazines, but I'd have to buy ad space - of course I prefer free advertising! Maybe I should make the investment. Also, I may change my one Craigslist ad into several specific ads. Right now it's couples, families, kids, individuals and babies all in one ad. Let me know if you have any ideas! Thanks.

I Sang To This Baby

We go to lengths to make babies smile. Bribe with food. Wave noise making toys. Make faces. Act like clowns. At one point, the Mom was holding the baby and the Dad was standing behind me, trying to get her to smile. The Mom says to the Dad: Sing to her! Sing twinkle twinkle little star! The Dad was extremely reluctant, even after more cajoling, and reassurance that there's nothing embarrassing about singing badly in front of a photographer (I have a camera, not video camera recording sound, after all). So I thought What The Heck and announced: OK, I'll sing!

Singing while photographing is something I've never done before. It is different from waving a toy with my left hand while I photograph with my right. Both hands were available for camera control, yet I found that even this simple song made for a challenging multi-task. I couldn't remember the lyrics (How I wonder What you are? How you are? Where you are?) and when I paused to dig into long ago stored memory boxes, I couldn't concentrate on taking photos.

But it worked! She turned and smiled at me, a long lasting smile! The things we do for baby smiles.

What Do All Those Numbers and Things on Lenses Mean?

28-70mm f/2.8 lens. 28-70mm is a great zoom range for walk-around people photographing. "Walk-around" just means versatile - you can walk around and photograph with it. Unlike prime lenses (with set focal length, like 50mm) which are not convenient for walking around because instead of lens zooming, one has to move their feet to move closer/ further to frame the subject. A wide angle (good for landscapes) range is say 16-28mm.

f/2.8 is the aperture. There's physics/math which I never bothered to figure out. But for practical purposes, f/2.8 is a relatively wide aperture, which means it lets more light in, so one can shoot in lower light conditions. Wide aperture also means shorter focal range. If you're staring at something far away, your pupils are small - small aperture. Something close up - your pupils are big - wide aperture. Short focal range also means good Bokeh. That's a Japanese word, for the unfocused background; the foreground is nice and sharp - ideal for portraits.

So! All that boring photography classroom stuff out of the way. I wanted to compare 2 lenses that have the same range and aperture. The Canon version (28-70mm f/2.8 L) and the Tamron version. Note the "L" on the Canon name. "L" signifies "professional series" or something to that nature. In other words, their best (and most pricey) lenses. Tamron is considerably cheaper. Tamron has served me well, but I felt it was time to upgrade.

Let's compare. These samples are details cropped out of much larger photos. The difference is often in the details. I mounted my camera body on a tripod, and enlisted a model. All conditions the same, except for lens. The top pics were taken at 70mm (that is, the most zoomed in possible). Which better captures detail? Look at the fur on the ear. You can almost see the individual strands on the ear. Canon wins. The lower pics at 28mm (widest angle possible). Again, Canon has crisper detail, in the fur and blanket fuzz. Canon wins. By the way if you click on the image to enlarge it, the diff becomes very obvious.

Of course, everyone says Canon is better. I could've just assumed Canon was better. But I like being able to see the difference for myself.

Wait! I just remembered something. To be honest, I've dropped the Tamron before. So uh, that might nullify everything.

Clothes Are Important

One hour, four different looks. We have the Bookish Graduate (the columns added an academic touch), Sassy Shopper ("Imagine you're walking towards a shoe sale!" her husband called to her, after I'd instructed her to walk with attitude towards me), Beach Diva and Beach Casual.

Clothes make all the difference! I think her behavior was affected by what she wore too - you can get a sense of that from her poses in the pictures. When I go photograph, I often wear my Photographer Outfit, which consists of dark gray wide-legged comfortable but sensible wide legged (not too wide) slacks and a top with a low waist; one must squat, bend over a lot or even wind up lying on the floor for baby shoots, so the long bodied tops are necessary to keep everything covered in the back. At events I wear a black top, so I don't stand out yet am recognizable as staff. The tops can vary depending on event type; I opt for something trendier at happy hour type events, whereas I am more modest at weddings. Beach, park and home shoots, I am more casual. It is all about fitting in with clients. They're more likely to feel comfortable if I dress appropriately for the shoot type.

Do You Recall Diptychs?

An article in the NYTimes about blogging informed me that there are 133 million blogs out there. But only 5% of those blogs have had entries posted in the last 3 months, which means there are some 125 million blogs abandoned... just languishing out there in cyber purgatory. I'm kinda thrilled to be within that 5% of non CP blogs.

One of the reasons I keep posting is that I know that you keep reading (though Exactly who all of you are I only have my educated guesses, clued in by the Map function on my blog counter... who is that person who every so often checks in from Perth?) so thanks for checking in.

Another reason is that I like to record what I've done; when I've accomplished something I blog about it - an affirmation of productivity. Some late nights, I think to myself, Just finish these edits and then blog it! And also, I like to keep track as my growth/process as an artist. I don't link to this blog from my GinkgoPhoto.com website, because this is not a professional blog. Pro photo blogs put up only their best pics, and then gush about how beautiful their subjects are, because of course, it is their clients who are reading the blog. I like to complain about photo shoots, throw up pics that are not necessarily my best, point out where I can improve and what I'm still learning. And should some clients stumble upon this blog, I don't mind. I think it would be interesting for them to gain insight into my process.

Anyways, we took Charlotte out to Half Moon Bay, which is on the coast of the Bay Area west of Palo Alto. Though not the most complimentary picture of her (though it is quite accurate - she spends most of her time with the nose to the ground in new places), I rather like the composition - strong horizontal lines, almost like 2 separate photos pasted on top of one another a la diptych. In a way it's visually uncomfortable - I almost want her head to be up to break up the horizon, but that would make for a predictable photo. I do wish the beach wasn't strewn with kelp; the image would be so much more striking.

Babies Are Not Crazy About Hats

When I schedule young baby shoots, I now tell the parents to pick an approximate hour of baby happiness, and then to call me beforehand to let me know if baby schedule (feeding, sleeping) is going to plan. That makes life easier for everyone - I don't sit around doing nothing, and the parents don't fret that their photo session hour is ticking away unproductively.

I deemed the best lighting to be in the back yard. A hazy day, the light was lovely and filtered. However, the baby was very squinty outside, and though his giggled and laughed, he did so with eyes closed. So, we moved inside to the hallway, where there was a skylight - the second best lighting. Threw a big sheepskin rug on the floor (really large rug could've covered a small horse... I didn't know sheep came that big... maybe it was fake) and slid a hand knit cap (from Etsy.com, apparently) on the baby's head and lay him on the rug. He was impressively tolerant of the hat; many babies aren't fond of hats at all and do everything they can to remove them. But grown-ups like babies in hats so often there's a mini-battle.

The City Hall Wedding Challenge

It's hard to be artsy and creative during a one hour session covering a City Hall wedding. A good portion of that time is spent waiting, waiting to do paper work and waiting for the officiant. Waiting is not a good time for photo taking, especially pre-wedding. People are a little nervous or antsy. Plus waiting areas are not very photogenic. Yet we're tied to the wait area because we don't want to miss our appt.

Then come ceremony photos, during which it's hard to be creative because it only lasts 5 minutes or less. I have to make sure I'm capturing the moments, instead of running around to different vantage points.

Next are the obligatory group photos, with multiple combinations of people flanking the bride and groom. Some portraits of the B&G, but by this time, the hour's almost up. Anyways, this above was my third to last shot, a quick photo on our way out of the City Hall.

While most of the CH has bad lighting (natural light drifting in from high ceilings, combined with yellow light from indoor lamp posts), one can head up to the balconies on the 4th floor for fantastic natural light, coming in from large windows. Fantastic for portraits, and makes everyone look a little glowy. Plus, huge classical looking urns, a nice touch for wedding pics. As a side note, I really wanted to grab a pair of pruning shears and trim those stems.

You Too Can Fake a Baby Portrait Studio

She was born on a Sunday, about a month ago. And her name starts with A. We faked studio shots with a combination of a black velvet pillow and 2 black sweatshirts that served as backdrops, and used natural light from the windows. Usually babies are swaddled in pastel colors. We rarely swaddle babies in black. Ever seen a baby dressed in black?

For an immediate dramatic effect, place a nude baby on a black or dark background. Hmm. I suppose this depends on the color of the baby. Well, pick a contrasting shade, in a solid color. No distracting blanket wrinkles, or cutesy giraffe print. Just pudgy baby shape.

I'm thinking of making a black velvet(een) blanket, for the sole purpose of photographing babies. It has to be a fuzzy material because, as I discovered today, with my dark brown high-thread count sheet, that babies slide off of smooth fabrics. Fuzzy fabric also helps to absorb light (reduces glare), making for a rich contrasty black.

The number of poses for a young baby are rather limited. On her back, on her front, propped up against a pillow or parent.... and that's about it.

Not A Mug Shot

Happy June, blog readers! It was in fact, a very dismal summer day in SF. Just right for staying in and editing more photos. I'm finally working on a set of kid portraits. These are for a modeling portfolio. I was put in contact with the Ford agent, to find out what sorts of shots they needed for kids. Amongst other things, the agent said: "We also need some fun shots to show off the kid fun side." I looked through some sample model portfolios. I was relieved to see that kid portfolios are much different from adult ones - they are much more relaxed, kids being themselves; unlike the women's portfolios in which models were contorted into odd poses, plastered with make-up, wearing scraps of material etc etc.

Off we went to the park. She had a tendency to put on a cheesey smile and cock her head to one side (right photo). To get her out of that mode, her mom asked her to tell a funny story. That worked - she told us of a dream that involved squirrels and zombies (but no, she was not afraid), and her story telling photos made for great candid portraits.

Wait - how is a candid a portrait? Aren't they opposite? Portrait actually has a broad definition to me - one can do a portrait of a e.g. person, or a car, or a city. When I use it with clients, I mean that that image is going to focus on a single person, or small group of people. They may or may not necessarily be ready for the photo - so, it can be a posed portrait (right) or candid portrait (left). As long as the image gives some insight into the personality of the person, I consider it a portrait. Hence, a driver's license mug shot is not a portrait.

Party Crasher

Is she a Gerber Baby or what?! She was on the floor, and her parents and I hovered directly above her, shaking trinkets and making baby sounds. This photo shoot was a baby gift from friends of the family. My services have now been used a couple of times as a gift. Before I became a photographer, I'd never have thought of hiring a photographer as a gift, but it's a great idea! Of course.

Admittedly, sometimes it can be awkward, when I'm hired to photograph an event, and I'm a surprise gift. It's happened twice now. The hosts never respond with What a Fantastic Present I Love It! Instead, they say You Hired A What?? and eye me uncertainly up and down for a moment - I'm something akin to a party crasher I suppose. I stand there with my most inviting yet benign smile (I am good at looking benign) and so far, no-one has objected to my presence. I do notice though, that surprise-gifted subjects ham it up for friend photographers (with their point and shoots) in a way that they don't for me. I get a little envious.

Portrait gifts are a different story. People have time to check out my website, and have time to mentally prepare to be photographed.

Moss Covered Stick Trance

I am editing to no end. "Photographer" sounds like such an active job, going to new places, meeting new people, something different every day. It even suggests a touch of glamor, covering special events, chasing important people, traveling the world. No really. The reality is that I spend most of my time in front of the computer.

Fortunately, I can listen to music, surround myself with snacks, wear what ever I rolled out of bed in and scratch my dog's ears at the same time as editing. So there are definitely perks, so I'm not complaining! Just wanted to tell all of you out there, who are considering photography as a possible career direction, that taking photos is a small portion of photography. I do not snap photos all day. Last week I spent 6-7 hours actually photographing, and I expect I shall spend the rest of this week as well as some of next working on edits.

Anyways, remember this munchkin? The one with an affinity for moss covered sticks. Well take a closer look. Peer into his eye. Could it be? A silhouette wielding... a moss covered stick? Indeed it is! And in the meantime, marvel at the resolution of a 10.1 megapixel camera.

Chilly Weather No Match for Warm Hearts (aww!)

A cold, windy and gloomy San Francisco day... they arrived from South Bay, wearing summery khakis, white pants, white shirts and gauzy blouses. They were freezing. But having driven all the way to Baker Beach, we figured we might as well get some GGBridge photos, even though it was mostly obscured by fog. To where shall we move the photo shoot? They asked, and I had to appear confident and I declared Golden Gate Park! Though really, I was wracking my brains and weighing the pros and cons of the many GGP locations, taking into consideration my brief interaction with the family and trying to figure out what backdrop they'd enjoy the most.

It was a risk, as I'd not shot there before, but I chose North Lake, in the NW area of GGP. I'd found this little gem of a lake, nestled in a secluded mini-valley, while exploring GGP with my dog. It turned out to be perfect. With no wind chill, the family - 5 adults and one baby, felt warm enough to shed heavy jackets and enjoyed a scenic promenade around the lake.
















They enthusiastically climbed tree limbs, sat on tree stumps and stones, off-roaded and wove between lake-side tall grasses. Despite the chill weather, an altogether pleasing, portfolio worthy set of photos.

First Weekend of Summer

A trio of photo shoots to start of the memorial day weekend. First thing in the morning, head shots for child models. Then a family portrait session consisting of grandparents, parents, aunt and baby. And finally, portraits of a transgender radio host.

She needed a series of B&W portraits, to be put in a slide show and accompanied by the R&B song "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone. The whole thing would be posted on her radio website as an ad for her show. I've never knowingly interacted with a transgendered person before, and once again I was reminded of one of the great things about my photography job. Meeting people through photography who I don't encounter in my everyday social sphere has the comforting effect of making the world a little smaller.

She enjoyed the beach, despite the wintry cold and grayness. "I haven't been here since I was a teenager!" she declared, and I tried to picture her as a teenager, and realized that I wasn't sure whether to picture a young man or woman. And of course didn't feel it was my place inquire.

I will listen to her radio show, when I figure out how to access it. And I'll let you know when the slide show is up.

Foggy Doggy Weekend

Headed somewhere for the three day weekend? Doing a Staycation?
In any case, Happy tails/trails!
We are dogsitting a neighbor's dog. Not the one featured here. Maybe I will take photos of William later. He is whining for his parents. And starting to howl. A little difficult to focus on blog writing. Tomorrow I have 3 photo shoots, and one wedding consultation. I'm a little concerned about 2 of the shoots, because they will be on the beach, and both parties are not from SF. They are from areas that do not become enshrouded in fog. They will be enjoying their warm Spring sunshiny mornings in San Jose and Oakland respectively, and will think, what a lovely day for a photoshoot! Then they will arrive in SF and note the huge gray cloud looming overhead. The beach will be cold, cloudy and windy. I did send them warning emails. I think I'd better call them tomorrow and remind them: Bring Layers!

Cuttlefish Ink

Perhaps this blog may have been more appropriately named Cuttlefish Ink, as that would be an indirect reference to photography. Sepia toning photos originally involved cuttlefish ink in the print process, after all. Sepia, in case you're wondering, if the genus name for such cuttlefish. Now you know, it'll come up in Jeopardy someday. I just read on Wiki that sepia ink has better permanence than other inks, so surviving old photos tend to be ones printed with sepia.

Thus, by making this pic sepia tone using digital cuttlefish ink (and adding a vignette), the pic takes on a timeless quality, though we can guess the decade by examining the clothes and hairdos. The other effect of sepia is to soften and even out skin. Everyone has a great complexion with sepia tone. And why sepia tone ever B&W? B&W feels more detached, more photojournalistic because of course, we are most used to seeing B&W pics in newspapers. The warmth of sepia makes a photo more personal. But sepia is not for all photos. Certain photos strike me as good sepia candidates. This is one.

Get In Shape: Photograph Small Children

The most difficult subjects to photograph are baby/toddlers, when they have just discovered the joy of running. Away from the photographer and from mom. They do not stay still for a second. Every single photo I have is a candid shot because had no concept of posing. We tried sitting him in a bed of flowers/ in a sand pit/ on a grassy knoll and immediately he got up and ran away.

We eventually figured out some tricks. He had an attraction to moss-covered sticks, so I collected a few and held them in front of him, carrot-donkey style. He paused was when presented with a problem, such as how to surmount physical barriers, like park benches. So we intentionally went over barriers, and as he tried to follow, he slowed enough so that he was not a blur.

With all this barrier climbing, running to catch up with/ get in front of my subject, squats/ laying on grass/ standing atop objects to get interesting angles, and pretty much constant moving while photographing and thinking of happy, encouraging things to say to small children, not to mention carrying a hefty camera, it's no wonder I'm exhausted by photography!

Blinkers Be Gone

When it comes to group photos, why take multiple shots? To increase the chances of getting a photo where no-one is blinking. However, I'd only taken 2 photos (to the right) and oh no, She's blinking and then He's blinking, argh! What to do??

Easy fix. Overlay one photo over the other in Photoshop, as different layers. Erase the blinking eyes on the top layer to reveal open eyes on the under layer. Hopefully there has been little position movement between the photos - that's why machine gun rapid succession photo-taking is useful.